


The Unraveling Multiverse - Is Only One of Our Problems

by xJustxLivingxLifex



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Established - HoneyMustard, Established - RottenJoke, Fellswap Papyrus (Undertale) - Freeform, Fellswap Sans (Undertale) - Freeform, Future - BBQTaco, Future - EdgePuff, M/M, Multiple Universes Colliding, Not Beta Read, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Underfell Papyrus (Undertale), Underfell Sans (Undertale), Underswap Papyrus (Undertale), Underswap Sans (Undertale)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-26
Updated: 2020-08-30
Packaged: 2021-03-03 21:27:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 17,291
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24922306
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xJustxLivingxLifex/pseuds/xJustxLivingxLifex
Summary: After accidentally stumbling into a hole in space and time, Blue and Stretch find themselves trapped in the harsh reality of Underfell. When they run into a pair of uncanny doppelgangers the four think they've found a way to get the brothers home. However, more holes in space begin to appear and it's becoming increasingly obvious something is deeply with the multiverse. When another hole opens right under their feet the four find themselves in a completely new universe where none of them know the rules. Will they ever make it home? Or will the ever deteriorating universe swallow everything whole?
Relationships: Papyrus/Papyrus (Undertale), Papyrus/Sans (Undertale), Sans/Sans (Undertale)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 37





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> I love multiverse stories so figured I would take a crack at one. Haven't written a multiple chapter story in years, and even longer since I've completed one so we'll just see how this goes. 
> 
> I only have the vaguest ideas on what's going to happen so this will be an adventure we will explore together. Sorry if I missed any typos.

Razz relaxed back on the worn sofa watching the MTT special wearing a pair of worn sweatpants and a tank top he had confiscated from his pet. The clothes were not to par with his normal armor, but the texture was soft and “promoted optimal comfort” (at least, that’s what Rus had said). Unlike the propaganda commonly shown in Hapstobot’s programs, Mettaton took a much more light-hearted twist in his entertainment. The special currently running was a thrilling saga about a lone princess in search of her one true love. Of course Mettaton played all the characters himself, which got confusing at times. While Razz found the show to be boring and predictable the others appeared to be entertained by the robot’s overly dramatic acting and unique costume changes so he accepted his fate. 

The Mutt was sitting on the floor nearby completely entranced by the show. Razz could spy the crumbs on the floor from where his brother was attempting to hide his snacking on those damned dog treats. The thought to reprimand his brother for the disgusting habit and mess crossed his mind but he decided to hold his tongue for now. He could always order the Mutt to clean the entire first floor by hand as punishment later. 

On the others’ suggestion he and Mutt were taking a “day off” which apparently stood for lazing around the house like sloths and not doing ANY PATROLS. Even Rus had expressed his concerns, though Razz was sure Rus just wanted them to take a short break from their constant monitoring of Snowdin. Unlike their brothers Rus didn’t see a point in lazing around doing nothing, which was something the two of them agreed on. While the idea of a “day off” seemed idiotic and unproductive to him, it did have his benefits. Namely having his newest pet use him as a source of comfort for his naps as he carefully stroked the head resting across his lap. Satisfied that the other didn’t appear to be on the verge of waking anytime soon he moved his hand down to fiddle with the collar resting snugly around his pet’s neck.

While he had had MANY complaints since he and his brother found themselves in this goody-goody world, he couldn’t say it was all bad. Sure the King was WEAK-MINDED FOOL, but it was a refreshing contrast from dealing with his own manipulative and homicidal Queen. The Guard Captain Undyne (and wasn’t that a hilarious thought) appeared to understand in some manner what was necessary to keep this world’s precious peace. While no captain could compare to the ruthlessness of his own Alphys, he could admit to himself that there was the smallest seed of respect growing for this Undyne. He may even need to reconsider his thoughts of usurping her position for himself, if only to spare himself of others’ complaints. Even his own brother seemed to hold some fondness for the fish, though Razz knew the Mutt wouldn’t hold back if he wanted her dust. 

Lost in his thoughts he almost didn’t notice the shiver that passed over his pet. Their face seemed to tighten in distress, before slowly relaxing back into the calmness of sleep. He frowned and looked towards the Mutt to see that his brother appeared to be having a similar reaction and was frozen in concentration. 

“Well, what is it?” He ordered.

The Mutt frowned before stashing his ghastly treats away in the inner pockets of his coat. 

“A shift in space M’Lord. Just like when we and the others arrived, but it feels different.”

“Different how?”

Mutt thought for a moment before offering a slight shrug.

“I cannot say M’Lord. Only different.”

The Mutt’s blank face gave nothing away as he waited. Feeling his frustration and stress building, Razz placed his hand on his pet’s head and stroked softly to help center himself. This was not the time to lose his head. He was glad that the disturbance hadn’t been enough to wake his pet, otherwise he may not have gotten away with the action un-teased. 

Logically, they should alert this world’s royal guards of the incident. Here he didn’t have the standing and position as he did in his own world and it wasn’t his place to investigate these matters. However, if there were more arrivals from his world the Dogs wouldn’t be enough to contain the threat and it would waste too much time to wait on informing Undyne. All of Snowdin could be dust before she even arrived with reinforcements.

“Orders M’Lord?”

He supposed he could send his pet to investigate since this was their own world. But with their low HP there came other risks he didn’t want to consider. Coming to a decision, he focused back to his brother as the skeleton stood at attention waiting.

“Go and fetch them Mutt. If there are any threats eliminate them immediately. Otherwise, bring them to the guest room. My recent enhancements to the sheds security should be more than enough to hold any suspects while I determine their motives. Report to me when you are done.”

“Yes M’Lord.” 

Mutt nodded and walked out the front door before shortcutting away towards the spot he estimated the disturbance had originated from. Razz carefully extracted himself from under his pet to stand, placing a nearby pillow under the other’s head to act as his replacement. When his pet didn’t rise, he ascended up the stairs to change. Looks like his day off was over and his battle body was waiting for him.


	2. A Rip in Space

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Edge and Blue have a shopping trip, and then the sofa goes missing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, fair warning updates this quick will not be the norm.

Edge stalked through town with a month’s worth of rations secured in his arms. With their additional company it would be difficult to get the food to last as long as they needed, but with his brilliant planning he knew he could budget the supplies out appropriately. 

Speaking of company, he glanced down to see his “brother” marching dutifully next to him. The hood of the over-sized jacket was up and covering the majority of the other’s face, but he could still catch the smallest glimpses of a wide grin peeping out from the shadows of the hood. He knew this was a terrible idea. After checking to make sure there was no one around to catch the slip-up he subtlety nudged the other.

“Why brother, you sure are in a chipper mood today.”

The other stumbled at the nudge and opened their mouth to voice their complaint before remembering themselves. The dutiful marches quickly transitioned into a slouched dawdle and the grin dropped to an exaggerated scowl. It was the most unbelievable ruse Edge had ever had the displeasure of seeing.

“What are you talking about brother?” The other asked with a forcibly low growl. “I’m never chipper. I’m so tough and mean; I even leave out dirty laundry for my sensational houseguest to clean up. Grrr….”

Edge would have rubbed his eye sockets if his arms weren’t full with bags. 

“Boss. Not brother, Boss. Also, no growling.”

“Right Edge, I mean Boss.”

Edge sighed, at least they were already close to the house and then this headache would be over.

“YO PAPYRUS! I got a bone to pick with you!”

Or not.

Seeing a dog monster trudge towards them in the snow, he transferred the bags he was holding into the smaller skeleton’s care. If a fight broke out he would need his hands free. The yelling dog had easily gathered the attention of other nearby monsters that were either curious to what was happening or excited to see a potential fight. As he stood back, he subtly maneuvered his body to keep himself between the dog and his “brother” without the dog’s notice. The other seemed to get the message and kept his face downwards towards the ground to better cover his face.

Once the dog reached them Doggo stood at attention before him, but directing his glare at the smaller monster hiding behind the lieutenant. 

“Doggo.” Edge remarked with a hard look. “Funny, I don’t remember giving you permission to speak to your superior officer with such disrespect.” 

“Sorry Sir. I meant no disrespect, but that brother of yours stole my money and I want it back.” Doggo growled at the smaller skeleton who seemed to squirm in apparent guilt.

Edge crossed his arms across his chest and straightening his back to his full height. “And how, may I ask did my brother rob you? He has been by my side all day.” He questioned.

Doggo smirked at the squirming skeleton in satisfaction, imagining the punishment the other would receive. “Last week we were playing cards at Grillby’s, and I know for a fact that chew toy of a thief cheated. And now I want my money back.”

Edge stared the monster down before sneering at the idiotic dog. 

“Why Doggo, are you openly admitting to gambling? You know how I feel about such activities in MY TERRITORY.” 

Doggo flinched at the reminder, seemingly forgetting whom exactly he was talking to in his plan on getting back his pilfered funds.

“Uh, well sir, it wasn’t so much gambling as a friendly wager between friends. And Sans and I are friends, right buddy?” The dog quickly backpedaled, sending a pleading glance to Sans who still refused to meet his eyes.

“Well in light of your friendship we’ll have to consider this a lessoned learned. There will not be any further incidents such as this, am I understood?” Edge directed at the dog with a stern look, ignoring the grumbling under the mutt’s breathe. “Rest assured, I will deal with my brother’s reprimands personally when we arrive home. Good day Doggo.” 

With that Edge continued on his way home, the smaller skeleton stumbling behind him doing their best to ignore the quiet threats Doggo was whispering their way.  
The short stroll seemed to take an eternity now that they were both aware of their audience. When they finally reached the steps of his porch Edge heaved a sigh of relief. That had been too close for comfort. Using his key to unlock the door he threw it open and stomped inside with Blue scurrying into the house after him with the food. 

As Blue set the bags down to hang up one of his brother’s extra jackets on the coat rake, Edge scanned the room for any sign of their brothers. He looked towards his brother’s room upstairs when he didn’t see them in the living room but didn’t smell smoke which meant they hadn’t broken out Sans’ hidden stash. He also didn’t hear any poorly concealed noises in an attempt to hide their other activities. They must be in the basement then. 

While he had been attempting to locate the others, Blue had already taken rations into the kitchen to put away.

“Mwehehe that was exciting, wasn’t it?” Blue asked with a grin.

“If by exciting you mean an un-necessary risk, then yes I agree.” 

Blue huffed in frustration at his pessimistic attitude.

“Aw… come on Edge. It’s not healthy to be stuck inside all the time; I can’t even practice my training.” Blue complained. “And we didn’t get caught! My Red impersonation was amazing!”

“Hmmm.”

Not feeling up to arguing with a more excitable version of his brother, he left Blue to put away the rest of the food while he went back in the living room. He knew if he were in Blue’s place he would feel just an anxious to get out of the house, but between his brother’s illicit activities as the bar, the idiots excursions to the dump, and today, they were taking reckless risks.

On his way to the living room he stomped his foot loudly on the floor three times to signal to the idiots downstairs to come up. He started to countdown in his head and sat down on the sofa in an attempt to relax from the excitement of their excursion into town. While waiting he listened to the shuffling in the kitchen as Blue opened and closed cabinet doors. When he reached “1” he heard the sound of two pops behind him. The back of the sofa dipped on either side of him as both Red and Stretch leaned over to grin at him like a pair of loons. 

“Hey Boss. How was your shopping trip?”

“Yeah, was it egg-cellent?”

“I beet it was great. We sure ap-peach-iate you and Blue doing the grocery shopping.”

“Heh, food.”

The two fools almost fell over themselves laughing and Edge barely contained the urge to straggle them. 

“SHUT UP! I’m in no mood for either of yours’ juvenile games.” Edge growled and stood to glare the other’s into submission.

Stretch continued to snicker while Red mumbled out a quiet apology. Edge rubbed his nose ridge before casting a glare at his brother.

“Red, what have I said about wasting your time gambling at that disgusting establishment?”

Red must have realized where this was headed and started to sweat, eyes darting around to look at anything in the room other than his brother.

“Um, not to?” 

“Good, so your memory is in working order. I was concerned when Doggo told me you had been doing so behind my back which I know is something you would never do, isn’t that right brother?”

“No sir, I mean yes sir.” Red agreed, stumbling with his words as he fidgeted with his hands. At Edge’s stern look he shrinked in on himself.

“Don’t let it happen again.” Edge ordered.

“Hey man, ease up. It’s not that big of a deal.” Stretch said in defense placing his hand on Red’s shoulder who relaxed at the touch and leaned into the taller one’s side.

“It very much is a ‘big deal.’ Because of that stunt we were corned by Doggo and Blue could have been found out. What would have happened to your brother if anyone suspected he wasn’t Red? That’s right, he would be dust.”

Silence filled the room as the two stared each other down. While they all knew the risks at stake, it was still uncomfortable to hear the words spoken aloud. Frustrated, Edge turned on his heel and marched upstairs to his room. Stretch clenched his fists as they heard the slam of a bedroom door.

“Come on dude, it’s cool. Blue’s alright isn’t he? Edge is just worried is all.” Red said patting Stretch’s arm in comfort. 

“Red’s right Papy.” Blue said slowly emerging from the kitchen after the yelling had died down. “I’m okay. It was just a close call. Don’t worry, my masterful acting tricked other-Doggo into thinking I was Red! Mwhehe!”

Stretch smiled weakly at his brother who had puffed up in apparent pride as he patted the smaller skeleton’s head. 

“Yeah Blue, I always knew you were mint to be an actor.”

“PAPY!!!”

Red smothered his laughter behind his hands as Blue chased his brother back into kitchen. Following after them, he sat at the table that he and Stretch had found in one of their secret dump visits. Since Edge didn’t wear clothes that could cover his face it was trickier to sneak Stretch out under disguise than it was Blue. But they found that if they travelled by shortcut at night and kept to areas that the locals tended to avoid they could manage quick trips out (if only to get supplies). Once he was done attempting to tackle his brother, Blue slumped at the table pouting at Stretch as he sat down beside Red.

“So, have you guys made any new progress with the machine?” Blue asked.

“Ugh no.” Red admitted. 

“Every time it seems we are on to something another part breaks. It’s always one step forward and two steps back.” Stretch explained while rooting in his pocket for something. When he couldn’t find what it was he was looking for he groaned in despair until Blue reached out and offered a small lollipop he had convinced Edge to pick up while they were out. Stretch lit up and accepted the sweet. Ripping off the wrapper he shoved it swiftly into his mouth.

“Thanks bro, you’re the coolest.”

“Of course!” Blue smiled, before trailing off to stare down at the table. “Be honest, are we ever getting home?” 

“Well…” Red started, but was quickly cut-off by a look from Stretch.

“You know we are Blue. It’ll just take some more time.”

Blue looked doubtful at his brother’s words but nodded just the same. “Yeah, you’re probably right.” Blue then lit up and jumped from the table raising his fist into the air. “If anyone can figure it out it’s you and Red. I know you guys can do it!”

Red blushed at the show of confidence while Stretch, who was long used to Blue’s displays, just nodded along. Happy that his pep talk had been received Blue walked over to the stove to begin the preparations for dinner. He knew that today hadn’t been the best day. Doggo was too close to finding out their secret, which Edge had stressed repeatedly would be very bad. Blue knew this world was dangerous and that they should all be more careful, but he was so tired of being cooped up in the house all the time and the way things were looking this would be his future for the foreseeable time. 

Thanks to his knowledge of the machine and his shortcuts, Stretch was able to help out more than Blue. He was even beginning sleeping more than Stretch due to the boredom and that was unacceptable! Today’s test run with the Red disguise could have gone better, but they did make it without being found out and that was the important part. Overall, Blue considered it a success. He just had to keep practicing his Red imitation and then maybe he could at least work Red’s sentry shifts so that Red could continue his work with Stretch on the machine. He just wanted to help out so bad. Right now though, he could do one of the things he did best. Cook!

Looking over at the other two he could see Red and Stretch having a whispered conversation with a dark blush covering Red’s face. Blue just hoped Stretch wasn’t doing anything particularly lewd under the table. Again.

“Would one of you mind going and grabbing Edge for dinner?” He asked.

Red quickly volunteered and shot up from the table to run off into the living room. Stretch pouted at his boyfriend’s disappearance before standing to go help his brother with the food. Before he could get far though a loud shout of surprise and fear echoed from the living room. Blue and Stretch quickly exchanged looks and darted off after the other. 

As they entered the room they immediately noticed that the sofa was missing and in its place was a gigantic tear in the floor. The tear began around the front door and extended clear to the kitchen’s entryway covering the entire living room. Blue and Stretch were barely able to stop themselves from falling into it. The tear seemed to fall away into nothing but black and white static and emitted a low crackling noise that filled the room. Edge must have heard the yell as well because they could see him on the staircase on the other-side of the room looking as confused as they felt about his home’s recent decor change. 

“What the hell is that?!” Edge shouted as he vigilantly leaned over the staircases railings to get a better look.

“It must be a hole in space and time, like the one that brought Blue and I here.” Stretch answered back staring at the hole with suspicion. 

“Hey guys,” Blue said fretfully. “Where’s Red? You don’t think he fell in do you?!” Blue glanced this way and that in hopes of catching any hint of Red hiding out in the corner of the room that wasn’t overcome by the portal but had no luck in spotting him.

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN RED FELL IN?!” Edge screamed looking at them with ill-hidden fear before searching the hole for any sign of his brother.

“We don’t know that he did!” Stretch answered, but he couldn’t stop the thread of fear wrapping around his soul. 

“THEN WHERE THE HELL IS HE?” Edge yelled back.

“He must have fallen in, otherwise why would he have yelled?” Blue tried to reason. “Should… should we go in after him?” He asked as he inched closer toward the tear looking fearful.

“NO BLUE! YOU ARE NOT GOING IN!” Stretch snapped as he pulled his brother further back into the kitchen. “We have no idea where that thing goes. I can’t lose you Blue,” he emphasized. “We were lucky enough to survive it last time.”

“So you’re just going to abandon my brother you coward!” Edge bellowed already planning out how to launch himself over the stairs in a mad attempt to throttle the other.

“No one is leaving Red.” Stretch shot back. Running around the kitchen he began slamming open drawers and cabinets. “I’m going after him. I just need a tether or something so you guys can pull me back out.”

“Wait, I have rope in my room.” Edge declared already running back up the stairs to his room. 

Blue looked confused and glanced over to Stretch. “Brother, why would he have rope in his room?”

“We’ll talk about it later Blue.” Stretch said anxiously waiting for Edge. 

When Edge returned to the stairs he carried a long spool of rope encircling his arms. Hastily, he began to tie the rope securely around the banister and tossed the other end of the rope as hard as he could in the brothers’ direction. Blue barely managed to grab the rope from the air before it could fall into the hole. Working as fast as he could Stretch secured the rope around him, tying it off tightly. Once he was ready he approached the tear. 

“Ok, I’m going in. Once I find Red I’ll tug on the rope and you pull me up Edge.” 

Edge nodded in understanding, gripping his side of the rope tightly in his hands. Stretch stared into the hold and felt as if his soul was trying to escape out his mouth. When he and Blue had first fallen into the tear in their world, it had all happened so fast that he could process anything before they had ended up stuck here in Edge and Red’s world. Now that he was actually staring into the face of it about to jump in he was absolutely terrified. Attempting to steel his nerves, he walked closer to the tear and readily himself to jump in. However, before he could he felt a small hand wrap around his own.

“Papy, are you sure you want to do this?” Blue questioned his brother, eyelights wide in concern. “There must be another way.”

Stretch nodded solemnly at the other and carefully removed Blue’s hands. “I have to bro. Even if there were another way, it would take too long and we need to act now. I have to do this.”

Seeing his brother’s resolve Blue nodded and stepped back as Stretch allowed himself to fall into oblivion. For a moment things seemed fine as Edge and Blue both anxiously watched the tear for their brothers’ return. Suddenly the crackling sound turned deafening and the hole extended outwards more. Slowly it started to tear apart the staircase and Edge was forced to dart further up the stairs. But as the banister was being torn a part Edge scrambled back the remains of the railing after he realized his anchor was being destroyed. 

“EDGE! THE ROPE!”

Before Edge could respond he felt the rope wrapped around his hands jerk violently and yank him to the edge of the railing. He tried to regroup his footing but was loosing more leverage as the hole continued to grow. Another jerk on the rope pulled him over the side and he plummeted down into the portal. 

“NOOOO!” Blue screamed darting this way and that to find something to try and help the others. But there was nothing and the hole was growing even quicker than before, inching into the kitchen closer and closer. He was trapped and the others were gone. He could try to escape through the window above the kitchen sink, but there was no guarantee that anyone he found would be willing to help him, never mind not just try to kill him on the spot. He was the only one who could help, but there was nothing he could do from here. He needed to be brave. He needed to be strong. He needed to be a HERO.

So without hesitation, Blue ran towards to the portal and jumped.


	3. Welcome to ...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A self-sacrificing sofa, a dog, and a mutt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No notes. Hope you enjoy!

Plummeting through the air towards certain doom was the last thing on Red’s list of fun shit to try today. But here he was. After falling into the GIGANTIC HOLE COVERING HIS ENTIRE LIVING ROOM he thought he would be dust. Instead he was surrounded by static, seemingly floating in a sea of nothingness. He wasn’t sure how long he was trapped there; unsure of which way was up or down. Did time even exist anymore? 

Slowly he noticed felt a pressure surrounded the phalanges in his feet. There wasn’t pain at first, just an intense pressure surrounding his bone and pushing inward. He tried to jerk his feet out of whatever it was, but to no avail the pressure continued to crawl up his ankle joints and tibias. He struggled fruitlessly as it traveled upwards towards his hip; the pressure growing stronger and stronger until Red was certain it would ground him into dust. Now that he was aware of it the pressure seemed to be traveling faster up his spine and ribs. No sound escaped him as he tried to scream, cry out, DO SOMETHING. Tears filled his sockets as the pressure finally swallowed him whole and he clenched his eye sockets shut as he waited for death.

Then as suddenly as it appeared the pressure was gone and he was falling. Wind whipped past him as he fell downwards through a sea of trees. Before he could think about shortcutting to safety he landed face first on something firm and soft, with a distinct musty smell. With a groan he pushed himself up and opened his sockets to see where he was. Around him appeared to be nothing but acres of trees and snow. Looking down he let out a laugh that bordered on hysteria when he realized that his landing pad and saving grace had been none other than his own living room sofa. He knew the dumpster find had been a good catch, despite Boss’ arguments that it was covered in stains. Patting its cushions in thanks, he began to push himself up. 

Once he was able to sit up he relaxed back on the seat trying to recover from the traumatic experience. Judging from the fact he was alive he guessed the portal had dumped him about twenty feet max above the ground. For a normal monster such a fall would hurt like a bitch, but with his 5HP such a fall could have killed him. He released another chuckle when he realized he literally owed his life to his sofa. 

Just as he was about to look around some more he spotted a flash of light above him and then saw a familiar figure in a orange hoodie appear falling through the air where he had been not a few moments before. He barely managed to scramble out of his seat before Stretch landed harshly on the sofa. When the taller skeleton didn’t move right away Red rushed over to his side to inspect him. He distantly noticed a torn apart rope wrapped around the other’s waist, but quickly moved on to checking their limbs and face. Luckily the other appeared to be fine, if greatly shaken. Gently patting his boyfriend’s cheekbone he watched as the other’s eye sockets slowly opened and they let out a groan.

“Ugh, that never gets easier.”

Red let out wet laugh and wrapped his arms around the other’s shoulders. 

“Glad to see you’re alive loser. Are those trips always like that? That was literal hell.”

“RED! Oh thank the Queen you’re alive.” Stretch hugged the smaller tightly, before maneuvering him to sit across his lap and inspecting Red for any damage. Red chuckled as Stretch frantically patted him down. 

“Man chill, I’m fine. Good to know you would jump into certain doom for me though.” He assured with a smirk.

Stretch smiled, gently nuzzling his head on Red’s skull.

“Of course! Who else would help me smuggle honey past Blue?”

Relieved that the other was all right, he released Red so they could both stand from the couch. Noticing the torn rope, Stretch groaned loudly. “Well there goes our way back.” 

Red shrugged and they both casted their look out to the treeline. 

“So, any idea where we are?” Stretch asked.

“Your guess is as good as mine loverboy. For all I know we are still in my world and we’re just in the middle of the damn woods.”

Stretch narrowed his sockets, considering the possibility. 

“Yeah, maybe.”

Suddenly two more flares of light flashed above them and they both looked up to see their brothers flailing through the air. Edge landed back first on the sofa with a grunt. The repeated impacts must have finally been too much for the sofa because the feet blew out from under it on Edge’s landing and Red mentally thanked the sofa for sacrificing itself in its duty. The edgy skeleton groaned and was already starting to lean up when Blue landed right on the others chest, prompting around grunt from Edge. 

“Oh Edge, I’m so sorry! Are you alright?”

Edge ignored the question and shoved Blue off of him as he muttered curses under his breathe. Blue pouted at the dismissal. “I was just trying to apologize.”

“Don’t worry about it bro, I think Edgelord just needs a moment.”

“PAPY! RED! YOU’RE ALRIGHT!” Blue yelled in elation, tears streaming down his face as he ran over and grabbed both of them in a tight hug. The lazybones attempted to wiggle out of his grasp while reassuring him they were okay, but they were thwarted by his crushing strength. At some point Edge had managed to recover enough to stand and stumbled over during their attempted escape rubbing his tailbone with a grimace. When Red finally managed to find freedom, leaving his boyfriend to his fate, he found himself immediately snatched up and inspected by his own brother instead.

“Oh come on Boss.” Red whined.

“Shut up welp.” Edge ordered while CHECKing his brother. Satisfied that Red’s stats appeared to be in normal range he released him. Finally Stretch managed to free himself from Blue’s grasp after repeated promises that he was fine.

“So you guys fell in too huh?” He asked. Edge nodded and explained that the hole had continued to grow and consume more of the house until he had fallen in. Blue nodded in agreement that he too had fallen shortly after Edge, though he refused to look any of them in the eye socket.

“So, where exactly have we landed?” Edge questioned glaring out at the trees like he was fully expecting them to issue him a status report. 

“No idea Boss. We only got here shortly before you. Haven’t heard or seen anything else yet.”

“Do… do you think we’re home Papy?” Blue asked looking hopefully at Stretch. Stretch grimaced and rubbed the back of his skull. 

“I mean it’s possible.” He admitted doubtfully. With so many potential universes and possibilities, ANYTHING was possible, but he didn’t trust their luck that they would have stumbled into the exact hole to lead them home.

“Let’s search the area. And stay together.” Edge ordered. “There’s no telling what kind of threats there are here.”

Together they stumbled through the trees, but neither group of brothers saw anything remotely familiar that could indicate what world they were in. Eventually they found a path, which was really more of a narrow clearing than an official path. The snow around them was undisturbed meaning either it had just recently snowed or that their path wasn’t used frequently. After following the path for a while it opened up to a larger clearing. 

“Hey, is that a sentry post?” Stretch questioned pointing to the small building nearby. Edge held Blue back to stop him from running ahead and subtly signaled to Red to check it out. Nodding in understanding, Red carefully snuck up to the station keeping low to the ground to avoid being spotted. Once he was close enough to peep inside he stood and signaled the all clear to the others. 

“Nobody’s home.” 

Once free from Edge’s clutches, Blue ran ahead to join Red eagerly inspecting the post. 

“Wowie, this looks just like your post Papy!” He announced excitedly.

Stretch almost agreed before something caught his attention. Leaning over the counter he picked up an empty glass bottle filled with a suspicious red substance.

“Uh guys… you don’t think this is…” Stretch asked nervously, sweat dripping down his skull as he held the bottle out away from his body. Red grabbed the bottle from his hand to inspect it. Bringing it to his face he inhaled deeply trying to identify any smells. Then, swiping a bit of red from the bottles opening on his finger, he rubbed the substance between his phalanges before sticking one of his fingers in his mouth. A look of disgust crossed his face as he spit out the substance and frantically tried to clean it off his conjured tongue. 

“OH MY QUEEN RED! WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?!” Stretch screeched hovering over Red anxiously. Edge picked up the bottle from where Red had tossed it aside and smelled it for himself.

“It’s ketchup.” Edge announced in annoyance, ignoring Red’s complaints that ketchup was gross and Stretch’s muttering that his concerns had been for nothing. Blue excitement dimmed at the news.

“So we aren’t home then.” He sighed.

“Ya might not be home, but this is a good sign.” Red said as he continued to dig up more and more empty bottles of ketchup from the station. 

“How?” Stretch asked, lining up the Red’s finds on the post’s counter. Seriously, what was with all the ketchup?

“No traps or security. If this was a sentry post in our world, it would be much more heavily guarded than this sorry excuse of a shack.” Edge stated, examining the building with a calculating eye.

“So we’re not home, but we’re not somewhere like your guys’ world either. That’s reassuring. No offense.” Stretch added quickly, eyes darting to Red and Edge.

“None taken. Boss is right, this place is probably filled with nothing but weaklings like your world. No offense.” Red said casting a smirk at Stretch when the other shoved him playfully.

“Let’s keep going,” Edge suggested. “We don’t know with certainty if this place is safe and I would rather not be stuck out here over night to find out.”

The others followed closely behind as Edge continued down the path. Later they came across a cardboard box, which Blue eagerly ran up to and exclaimed how much it looked like his own station back home. However, before they could investigate further they were interrupted by a shout.

“Hey Sans, is that you?”

Red quickly grabbed Stretch and pulled him into some nearby bushes attempting to hide the both of them. Just as Edge was about to grab Blue to do the same they both saw Doggo approach from around a nearby tree. Edge and Blue both froze hoping that the dog monster didn’t see them.

“Now I know I saw something. Hello? Is anyone there?” The dog asked looking around for any kind of movement. As he continued to mutter and glance around in uncertainty looking for any sign that there is someone with him, Blue began to feel bad for ignoring the partial blind monster’s calls. Ducking under Edge’s hold Blue approached the monster with a large smile.

“Yes, it is I. The Magnificent Sans!” Blue announced cheerfully, ignoring Edge’s whispered threats to get behind him and away from the mutt. Stretch barely managed to suppress a moan at his brother’s display and Red just rubbed his head muttering complaints about weaklings wanting to die.

“San! I knew it was you. Are you okay, you sound a bit off. Is that Papyrus there with you?” Doggo jumped back in surprise as the skeleton suddenly appeared in line of vision. He squinted his eyes at Sans, unsure why the other sounded loud compared to normal or why he was talking that way. He could faintly make out the outline of another figure standing behind Sans, which he guessed was the skeleton’s brother.

Edge narrowed his sockets at the dog, but didn’t feel any threat coming from the monster. Taking a chance, he approached the dog with Blue though he held himself ready in case of a fight.

“Yes, this is Papyrus Doggo.” Edge acknowledged keeping his sockets on the dog.

“Wow you sound a little off too Papyrus, though not as bad as Sans here. Undyne have you guys out here today? Are you guys sick? You should probably head home if you’re under the weather” Doggo said in concern.

Edge nodded in agreement. “Yes, you are right Doggo. Neither Sans nor I are feeling ourselves today. We will go home now and rest. Thank you.”

Grabbing Blue’s arm, he dragged the smaller skeleton past the dog and signaled at the bushes for Red and Stretch to follow out of eyesight. Doggo’s tail wagged, seemingly happy that the skeleton brothers took his advise. Before they could round the corner of the path that led to his own post he called out to them one final time.

“Oh, and tell that friend of yours to quit stealing my dog treats! Those things get expensive to replace all the time.”

“Ok, we will!” Blue yelled out in agreement before Edge dragged him around the corner of the path. 

Edge eventually released his grip on Blue once they were clear of the dog’s presence, though he continued to march along. His eye sockets kept glancing to the trees lining the side of the path to confirm their brothers were keeping up. Even Blue had to jog to match the pace his longer limbs were setting. Finally they came across a larger clearing and Edge felt it was safe enough to stop and wait for their brothers who stumbled out of the bushes clearly out of breathe.

“Ugh, did you have to move so fast?” Stretch complained slumping over Red who protested and attempted to shove the taller one off. 

“So this world has a Sans and Papyrus as well.” Edge said thoughtfully, ignoring the bickering fools in the background.

“Yes, it looks like it. And this Doggo was a lot nicer than the one in your world.” Blue stated, happy that he wasn’t the focus of such ire as he had been during his last interaction with Doggo. Suddenly an idea struck and he lit up even more. “Maybe if we find Sans and Papyrus they can help us!” 

After finally tossing his boyfriend off of him, Red approached the others while Stretch was left to sputter in the snow.

“Sure, I mean they’re us right? They might even have another machine we can use.” Red pointed out.

“What’s this about a machine?”

The group quickly jumped to attention, Edge and Red taking point and guarding the other two monsters while Stretch attempted to keep his brother hidden further behind him. Across the ice stood a tall skeletal figure in a fur lined black jacket. The figure was slouched over, though Red bet that if they stood up straight they might be even taller than Edge or Stretch.

“Hey now, there’s no need for that.” The other said, gesturing to the magic gathering in Edge’s and Red’s hands and sockets. “We’re all … friends here right?” They asked with a leer.

“Who are you? What do you want?” Edge questioned, voice deep with anger. This monster wasn’t like the Doggo they encountered a few moments ago. An aura of power and wrath surrounded the figure which signaled a high LV level, maybe even higher than his own.

“Now you know who I am. And like I said, we’re all friends and friend’s help each other don’t they? I just want to help. We don’t get guest like you often.” They said with a shrug seemingly unaffected by the hostile reception. 

“That’s great!” Blue shouted in appreciation, attempting to approach the other from behind his brother and friends. While he was able to slip out of his brother’s hold, Red and Edge weren’t so easy and managed to keep him from running up to the other skeleton.

The other appeared surprise by the outburst and let out a quiet chuckle as he looked at Blue attempts to reach him.

“Sure it is. Got any names? You can call me Slim.”

Edge opened his mouth to tell the other where they could shove their name, when Blue interrupted while still trying to get out of his and Red’s hold.

“I’m Blue, and these two are Edge and Red. The one in the back is my brother Stretch.” 

“Nice to meet you Blue. So you guys are looking a machine huh? I can probably help you out there if you follow me.” Slim offered, gesturing for them to follow him further down the path.

“We’re not going anywhere with you.” Edge countered, constructing a bone blade in his hands while Red summoned a Gaster Blaster that hovered at his side. 

Slim didn’t appear startled or surprised by the displays of magic, instead it looked like he had been expecting it. Slim’s eye socket glowed with orange magic and they both felt the scan of a CHECK run over them. Edge growled and decided to CHECK the other in kind.

“Papyrus”  
HP: 14  
AT: 14  
DF: 14  
LV: 14  
...He has his orders...

“That’s too bad.” They heard Slim state before he sent a barrage of bone attacks their way. Edge and Red dodged the attack and were both ready to throw their own attacks when they suddenly felt the gravity of a BLUE attack pull their souls down towards the ground.

“Please stop!” Blue cried, tears gathering in his sockets. Stretch had pulled his brother towards him, attempting to calm him down and convince him to let the others up. 

“Blue it’s going to be okay, but you need to release Edge and Red.”

“No! If I let them go, they’re only going to attack Slim. And he was being nice enough to offer to help us! I won’t let them hurt him.” Blue argued, pushing his brother away and stomping his foot in frustration.

“Blue you can’t trust him.” Red argued, body still firmly held to the ground. “He attacked us!” 

“He has LV!” Edge added, trying to fight the hold on his soul.

“You must have scared him,” Blue countered. “You guys were already getting ready for a fight. He probably thought he had to defend himself. And you have LV too! But you’re my friends, and I think Slim can be my friend too!” Blue then marched over towards the other skeleton, ignoring the others’ protests.

“Blue, what in the underground do you think you’re doing?!”

As Blue approached Slim with determination, Slim simply stared him down with a look of casual amusement on his face. Once he had reached him Blue stuck out his hand confidently.

“Slim, will you do me the honor of being my friend?”

Slim raised an eye ridge at the small skeleton and his eye glowed with orange magic again as a CHECK ran over Blue. As the CHECK was completed, Slim relaxed and his eye socket’s seemed to soften as he looked at the smaller skeleton. 

“Sure lil’Lord, I’ll be your friend.” He said softly, taking Blue’s hand gently in his own as Blue beamed up at him. Blue looked over his shoulders to assure his brother and friends he was fine when he felt a tug and was pulled closer to Slim. The last thing he saw was his brother’s horrified face calling out to him before he felt the familiar pull of a shortcut and was gone.


	4. The "Guest Room"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some panic and a guest room. Or is it a shed?

“WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?! DUDE, WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOUR BRO?” Red screeched wildly gawking at the tracks in the snow where Blue had been just moments before.

“Oh, shit. Oh, fuck. Oh, damn. Oh, fuck.” Stretch muttered hysterically, clambering around the ice and falling on his tailbone several times to scan for any hint of his sibling’s whereabouts.

Edge studied the chaos around him before jumping into action. He waited until Stretch’s path brought him close and promptly snatched the other by the hood. Pulling him to a halt, Stretch lat out a gasp as the fabric pulled tightly around his neck. Having one in his grasp he immediately seized his brother by the hood as well, lifting him into the air to dangle beside him.

“Calm down you morons! Your panic does nothing.” He said sternly, shaking both of them harshly to make sure his message got across. “Our mission remains the same: locate the Sans and Papyrus of this world. Once we know where they are, we will know the location of Blue. Then we can deal with the Papyrus and have a long talk about how IDIOTIC Blue's actions were.”

Shaken out of his frenzy Stretch realized Edge was right. Pulling away from the other, he kept his eye lights focused down as he adjusted his hood and nodded.

“Yeah. Yeah, you’re right.” He admitted. “Thanks.” 

Stretch missed the shock that flickered across Edge’s face, but Red didn’t. Unable to hide his snickering, Edge scowled at his brother and hurled him into the snow.

“Fuck you, Boss. What’d I do?” Red grumbled as he pushed himself up. Great, now he had snow all up in his jacket and shorts.

“Shut up Sans.”

Standing up, Red attempted to wipe the snow off his jacket before settling his hands back into his pockets.

“Well, where should we go from here?” he asked, Stretch looking over in interest as well.

“Well, that’s obvious.” Edge announced. “The house.”

~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~

After Slim pulled him through the portal, Blue found himself greatly disoriented. He had only learned about his brother’s teleportation ability once they had found themselves in Edge and Red’s world, and had only used his brother’s shortcuts a small handful of times. Each time had been an experience, leaving him dizzy and nauseous. The world always seemed to spin uncontrollably around him after each shortcut, and this time seemed no better. Unable to process what was happening around him, he couldn't discern Slim carefully leading him through a barred door.

“Where… where am I? Where did you take me?” Blue asked, trying to demand an answer. However, the impact was lost as he fought not to gag.

“The guest room Lil’ Lord. I apologize for the abruptness of our travel. I know the shortcuts can be… an adjustment to get used to. The effects should wear off soon.” Slim answered after having coached Blue to sit in a foldable chair most likely left by Rus in the event they ever had “guests” over. He would need to remember to thank his double for that later.

“What’s going on? Why did you do take me here?” Blue questioned apprehensively, blinking his eye lights several times. Slowly the world began to come back into focus. 

As he gazed around at the room he noticed they were in a room eerily similar to his shed back home. A small bed was set up in the corner with mismatched sheets and pillows that appeared to be recycled from the dump. Beside the bed were other pieces of furniture that appeared to be recycled as well; a checkerboard table that had been converted to an end table, the foldable chair he was currently sitting in, and a dog bed that looked like it had been converted into some kind of floor pillow. Besides the small differences, the checkerboard being a chessboard in his shed, the room almost mirrored his exactly. Except for the row of bars separating the living portion of the room from the shed's doorway. This place resembled a nice prison cell more than a "guest room."

“To protect you Lil’ Lord.” Slim stated, ignoring the unease mounting on Blue’s face. When Blue tried to stand and protest that he didn't need protecting, Slim firmly put his hand on the other's shoulder to keep him pinned down to the chair. “Those two monsters had high amounts of LV and must be dealt with accordingly. Do not worry though, I will retrieve your brother shortly.”

Blue attempted to struggle against Slim's hold before relenting once he realized he wasn't getting out. He smiled weakly up at the other, but his eye lights were bright with worry. “Slim, Edge and Red are my friends. They wouldn’t hurt me I promise. No one has to fight or get hurt. Please, we just want to go home.” Blue pleaded. Neither noticed another skeleton enter the room, casting a glare at the two of them.

“Why does this weakling know your name Mutt?”

Blue looked over at the shed's doorway to see another Sans standing in the threshold. The Sans stood erect, shoulder’s squared, hands on his hipbones, and a sneer on his face, looking like he was daring anyone to try and take him on. The stance reminded Blue of himself; however, this Sans had sharp teeth similar to Red and three claw marks running down his eye socket. His armor looked similar to his own battle body, but the colors were primarily black with red trim. He even had Blue’s star-shaped eye lights, though his were smaller and less bright making it harder to notice.

“M’Lord, I introduced myself upon meeting his party,” Slim answered stoically.

“Hmm, so it seems that you do have some manners occasionally. Good.” Fierce eye lights converged on Blue as another CHECK settled over him.

“Sans”  
HP: 560  
AT: 7  
DF: 3  
LV: 1  
...Is confused and afraid...

Blue was perplexed when after CHECKing him the other Sans seemed to relax, much like Slim had done earlier, his stance easing and becoming less hostile. 

“I apologize for the accommodations, I assure you they should only be temporary." They assured placidly. "As you may have already guessed, I too am a Sans, but you may refer to me as Razz. My job is to ensure the safety of this world, and you are in fact in another world if you haven’t figured it out yet.”

Unsure what exactly was happening, Blue cautiously introduced himself to Razz. Manners were important after all. “Um, it’s nice to meet you? Yes, I know I’m in another world. My name is Blue." 

He hoped that this skeleton would see reason and decided to take the chance to plead his case. Leaning forward against Slim's hold he beseeched the other. "Please, my friends and I fell into this world and we are just trying to get home. We aren’t here to hurt anybody.”

Razz appeared amused by the pleading but nodded sympathetically. “It was nice meeting you as well Blue, I’m sure this will all be cleared up shortly.” Razz smiled as he began to step away. “Rest now, I'm sure you've had a long day. I must first speak with my brother and then we will see what can be done about your stay here.” He said as he turned to leave the shed.

Seeing his brother leave, Slim released his hold on Blue. Before Blue could react Slim had already stepped out of the cell and shut the cell door behind him to secure the cell's lock. Blue scrambled to the bars, pushing and pulling to try and break free, pleading with Razz and Slim to just listen to him. Slim felt bad for the Lil’ Lord but knew it was best he remained in the cell until the threats had been neutralized.

Outside the shed, Razz waited for him with his arms tucked behind his back as he regarded Slim stoically.

“Now then, report.” He ordered any pity he may have held for Blue before now gone.

“I located a group of unknowns traveling together through the forest towards town." Slim began. No emotion was conveyed in his tone as he recited the events. "Two Sanses and two Papyruses. My guess is they found themselves here through a portal similar to the one we had. One set of brothers had LV levels at 5 and 9, and engaged me in a FIGHT. Blue interfered, but I was able to secure him before bringing him here.”

“Are the two still alive?" Razz asked interest piqued. "And what about the LV level of the last one?”

“Yes M’Lord, they live. I was had to retreat to bring Blue here safely. Blue’s Papyrus also had 1 LV.”

Razz eye lights sharpened at the admission and Slim's stance straightened, though his face and tone didn't change. “Then why isn’t he here as well?” Razz asked voice growing sickenly sweet.

Slim didn't answer for a moment, already knowing where this was headed. Steeling himself, he answered evenly. “He was hidden behind the others M’Lord and did not approach me. I was unable to reach him before retreating.”

A crack sounded loudly as Razz backhanded his brother, Slim's head snapping sharply to the side. He made no effort to retaliate.

“If he is dust, it is on your hands.” The smaller growled, readjusting his glove. “Where are they now?”

Slim adjusted himself to appropriately face his brother, tone still dull and revealing no anger at his punishment. “I first encountered them by the ice pond.”

Razz considered this for a moment, tapping his fingers lightly on his crossed arms. “Doggo, Doggeress, and Lesser Dog are not on patrol today, but Doggo and Greater Dog should be at their stations." He stated, considering their options. "If we hurry we may reach them before they reach Greater Dog. We can only hope that Doggo survived any encounter they may have had. At this rate, they’re most likely already on the move towards town."

Razz thought for a moment before fixing his eye lights back on Slim. "You will shortcut us to the edge of town." He ordered. "We’ll walk from there. I don’t want to risk overshooting them and any inhabitants getting hurt before we reach them.”

“Yes, M’Lord.” Slim agreed with no hesitation. 

Slim put his hand on his brother’s shoulder, ready to initiate the shortcut. However, before he could open up the portal they heard a call from behind them.

“Hey, what are you guys doing?"

Gazing to the house they could see another skeleton stepping out onto the porch, having awakened from his nap. A blue jacket was haphazardly thrown on and their eye lights still appeared to be hazy from sleep.

“Comic, get back inside! You aren’t even wearing your infernal slippers.” Razz directed at seeing the other standing barefoot in the snow. Comic looked down at his feet belatedly and before peering back at them with a smirk.

“Meh, I can’t remember wear I put them. It’s completely slipper-ed my mind.” He snickered, ignoring Razz's groan of complaint and Slim's muffled snort. “Besides, isn’t today your day off? What’re you guys up to?” He questioned.

“Nothing of importance I assure you," Razz said attempting to look nonchalant. "We are merely stretching our legs for a moment. Go back inside Comic and we will be back shortly.”

Comic didn't look like he believed the poorly delivered cover-up, but he didn't fight it either. Most likely he was just too lazy to try to argue against it at that moment. “Yeah yeah, just don’t be gone long." He waved his hand slowly. "Rus should be back from his jog with Alphys soon.”

Razz nodded in agreement. “Understood.”

They stared each other down, seemingly waiting for the other to do something. Finally, Razz diverted his eye lights away as he and Slim slipped away into a shortcut. Comic stared out at the impressions their boots had left in the snow, eye lights slowly tracking their steps back to the shed.

“Hm… well, that’s not suspicious at all.” He muttered as he approached the shed.


	5. In Comes a Comic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Blue meets a Comic.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had some issues getting this ending right. I ended up shortening it a little and putting the parts I was having issues within the next chapter. Hope you all like it!
> 
> Thanks for reading!

“PLEASE WAIT!”

Blue panicked as the door behind the two shut leaving him isolated in his cell. He knew Slim had a particular investment in Red and Edge, and judging by his earlier attitude that didn’t seem to be a good thing. He said they needed to be ‘dealt with’ and Blue was troubled about what that could mean. And what about Stretch?! Blue had to get out of there to warn the others fast.

He desperately searched around the place for anything he could use to escape. The cell door was a no go, it was too sturdy and secure to breakthrough. Maybe if Red or Edge were with him they would know how to pick the lock, but he had no clue how to do it by himself. Scanning around some more he spotted two windows located in his cell, but they were both barred and too high up to reach without assistance. Dang his short stature! Maybe if he moved the table closer to one of the windows he could stand on it to reach, and then try breaking the glass to signal someone for help. It was worth the shot.

He thrust his weight against the side of the table to begin moving it into position. It was a struggle at first, the table was solid and heavier than it looked, but Blue was determined. While he had always been decently strong, his workouts with his Alphys, and later Edge, had served to better hone and control his strength. It wasn’t long before the table started to budge and after that, it was a cakewalk to maneuver. Now he just needed to find something to break the glass. The chair perhaps? It would be cumbersome to handle, but he didn’t really see any other choices he could use and he would rather avoid using his fists if he could help it. Glass in his joints did not sound like a fun time.

Going to grab the chair, he spotted something peeking out from underneath the bed. Making his way over to investigate he bent over to pick up… a slipper? Yes, it was a pastel pink fuzzy slipper partially hidden by the bedspread. If it wasn’t for his Stretch’s fondness for crocs he could see his brother wearing something like this. He dropped to his knees to examine the bed further only to discover a gigantic pile of trash shoved underneath the frame. He couldn’t contain his grimace at the sight, it was an absolute disaster. There were numerous empty bottles of ketchup like they had found at the sentry station, but also a plethora of discarded socks, crumpled up bags of what appeared to be milk bones, a few bottles of barbeque sauce, and even a trombone! He also found the other matching slipper pushed back farther behind a pile of socks and wrappers. He was hesitant to leave a mess like this alone, but the others needed him right now. However, he promised himself that after he warned the others he would make it a priority to come back and clean this mess.

As he sat back up to continue his escape attempt, he caught the door to the shed opening and ANOTHER skeleton stepping it. Just how many skeletons were there in this world? This one looked more like Red with his demeanor and posture but lacking the scars and classic gold tooth. They wore a shabby looking blue jacket and black basketball shorts with a large grin stretched across their face that seemed to grow when they spotted the slippers within Blue’s grasp.

“Oh, so that’s where I left them. Neat.”

The other shuffled casually into the room, closing the door behind him. Blue opened his mouth to beg for help, relief flooding him at the sight of another who could help him, but grimaced when he realized the other had dragged in snow from the outside with his bare feet, creating a mess all over the floor.

“Yeah, this is a great napping spot since we don’t have guests over often.” They said making their way closer to his cell. “Sorry about the mess by the way. My bro always tells me I can be a little trashy. Heh.”

Blue felt a bit of annoyance at the pun. Now was not the time for jokes, even lame ones such as that, but he stopped himself from snapping at the other as he normally would at Stretch or even Red as he reminded himself that this might be his way out.

“Please I need your help!” Blue rushed out, shaking himself out of his stupor. “My friends and I are from another world you see. We fell through a portal here and now- “

“And now you’ve found yourself under the tender hospitality of a scary-looking double and his gigantic guard dog?” The other interrupted, unimpressed.

“Yes, exactly!" Blue confirmed excitedly before becoming suspicious. "How did you know?”

“Lucky guess. That, and they’re my housemates. I saw them standing outside the shed before they took off.” They grinned as they rocked back on their heels. “Name’s Sans, Sans the Skeleton, but most call me Comic these days. Hey, would you mind tossing me those slippers there?”

Blue nodded and slid Comic the slippers through the bars. He smiled widely hoping to appeal to the other's monster's kind nature. “It’s nice to meet you Comic, my name is Blue. Could you please let me out? I need to go help my friends.”

Comic mulled it over while dropping the slippers to the floor so he could slide his feet into them. With his slippers finally on, he dipped back on his heels to look down admiring the feel of fluff surrounding his feet.

“Hm… Sure, I appreciate the help with you finding my slippers. 10G and I’ll let you out.”

Blue smiled for a second before he blanched at the deal. “But I don’t have any gold!” He shouted in aghast.

Comic seemed to consider this for a moment, digging his hands into his pockets while nodding his head sagely.

“Ok ok, you drive a hard bargain. 50G, final offer.” He winked at Blue with a smirk.

“But, but…” Blue struggled, eye sockets glistening as tears threatened to fall. At this rate, he wouldn’t be able to help his friends in time. Comic looked distinctly uncomfortable at the expression and glanced off to the side to avoid looking at him further.

“Relax kid I’m messing with ya. I don’t have a key, but I do know a shortcut.” Comic said shooting Blue a gentle look as he offered his hand through the bars.

Blue wiped his eye sockets and groaned weakly already knowing where this was going. Still, he grabbed the other’s hand and braced himself when the shortcut opened. If Comic was surprised by the other's seeming knowledge of the teleportation ability he didn't show it and instead opened a portal to pull them both through.

When they emerged from the portal Blue was only slightly nauseous. Luckily the effects didn't hit him quite as bad as before since he had been able to prepare himself prior. He looked around expecting to emerge outside the shed and readied himself to bolt off into the forest. Instead, he saw they were somewhere in Waterfall with echo flowers surrounding the path.

“Wait, why are we here? My friends are in Snowdin Forest. I need to get to them!” Blue freaked out, gripping his fists next to his skull as he tried to figure out what he was going to do from here. He could try running back, this world seemed similar enough to his own that he should be able to figure out the way back. But what if he got lost? If what if he was too late getting there? Oh, what was he going to do?!

“Kid I said relax, remember? We’ll head there next.” Comic’s socket’s widened at the other’s alarm as he attempted to soothe the panicking skeleton. “But something tells me Razz and Slim are... in a mood and that it would be better to get some backup.”

“What do you mean by in a ‘mood’?” Blue asked taking deep breathes he didn’t need and willed himself to calm down.

“The dudes can be a little aggressive is all.” Comic said, starting to walk down the path when Blue finally seemed to calm. Blue quickly scuttled after him once noticing the other’s departure.

“Yeah, Slim did start acting weird once he saw Red and Edge’s LV levels.” He agreed, looking around at the scenery. It really was amazing how similar this world looked to his own. Red and Edge's world had a darker feel that this world lacked that reminded him more of home. Maybe it was the absence of dust ever-present in the air? Blue contained the stutter at the thought. 

This took Comic by surprise as he stopped on his way and his sockets widened. “Your friends have LV?” He asked in a cautiously low voice. Blue worried that the other was reconsidering his offer to help.

“Yeah, but it’s not their fault!” Blue quickly defended. “Their world is really hard, and other monsters aren’t very nice. Monsters hurt each other there.” He whispered meaningfully. Comic nodded in understanding before continuing to walk down the path.

“Yeah, sounds like Razz and Slim’s place. So, tell me about your friends.” He casually ordered, though his tone made it sound like he didn’t care one way or another what the other did.

“You mean they’re not from here?” Blue asked in surprise before happily latching on to a chance to talk about his friends. “There’s four of us, Red and Edge, then my brother and I. They’re like us, they are a Sans and Papyrus too. Stretch, that’s my brother, and I fell through a hole in our world and have been living with them for a few months now. They’re really nice, though they don’t like to act like it.” He smiled thinking of his friends' rough and tumble exteriors, especially when he first met them. It had taken him some time to realize how much of an act it all was. “They were protecting us while we tried to find a way back home.”

“Heh, we’ll they sound like some cool guys. We had the same thing happen here too. One day I was knocking out a nap at my station and the next I see Razz and Slim falling outta nowhere. Nearly scared me outta my skin.” He said with a chuckle ignoring Blue roll his sockets at the joke. “Seems like your friend’s place is kinda similar to Razz and Slim’s, but they don’t seem very interested in getting home though. Not that I mind.” He said with a shrug.

“Then why are they so weird about Red and Edge?” Blue questioned.

“Well not to go too much into it, but back in their world Razz and Slim were LV Hunters. I don’t know too much about it, but from what I’ve picked up their jobs were to ‘take care of’ any monsters with too high LV levels that could pose a threat to the crown.” Comic explained, shooting Blue a significant look. “And a lot of monsters had high LV there.”

“That’s awful,” Blue said looking uncertain. “Are they dangerous?” He didn't like to ask, not wanting to make it seem like he was judging them, but he needed to know, primarily since they seemed to be going after his friends.

“Yeah, that’s my sentiment.” Comic agreed. “And probably not any more dangerous than your friends, which is still pretty dangerous. That’s why we’re getting back up. I could try calming down Slim myself, but Razz takes a little more ‘hands-on’ convincing.” He said taking his hands out of his pockets to make punching motion to show what he meant by 'hands-on'.

Blue nodded in recognition but was growing increasingly anxious on the inside. While he could appreciate the need for additional assistance, he knew the longer they took the more likely it was that Razz and Slim would reach his group before they could warn them. With Comic’s insistence on getting help, he must already be thinking they were going to find a fight when they reached them.

“So who are we looking for exactly- the royal guard?” Blue looked around looking for any armored figures that may be stationed along the path.

“Naw, even better!" Comic said with a grin. "My bro!"


	6. A Jog in Waterfall

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Blue meets some more familiar/unfamiliar faces.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was lazy getting this chapter out, and then life piled up. But it's here now.
> 
> Thank you all for reading and for the kudos! Greatly appreciated.

“YOU’RE BROTHER?! You have a Papyrus too!” Blue exclaimed in excitement as his eye lights shifted into stars and he grinned widely at Comic, which was frankly making the other quite nervous. Comic fidgeted under the attention and looked around to avoid meeting the other’s excited look.

“Of course. Why wouldn’t I?” He muttered quietly. “I’m a Sans after all.”

Seeing the other’s discomfort Blue reigned in his enthusiasm and considered the other’s words. As far as he had noticed, each universe he had encountered so far had duplicates of monsters from his world. By that logic, if this world had a Sans then it would make sense for there to be a Papyrus as well.

“True.” He admitted before glancing around. “Ok then, where is he?”

As he asked he stretched his neck out trying to spot this new Papyrus. How thrilling! He wondered if this one would behave like his brother or Edge? Or were they liked Slim? He frowned at the thought of another Slim. True the other seemed nice, but they did abduct him. But then he had said it was to protect him? It was all very confusing.

Comic shrugged and continued to meander down the path. “I’m not sure exactly. See, he went out to do his weekly motivational jog with Alphys,” he explained. “They usually run around Waterfall so that they can stop by Undyne’s when they’re done. Figured if we walked around enough we might ‘run’ into them.” Comic looked at Blue at his side from the corner of his eye socket as they continued down the path not even trying to hide the smirk on his face.

“If that was supposed to be a pun, it wasn’t a very good one.” Blue frowned at the other’s attempted joke, which caused Comic’s shoulders to shake as he chuckled at the deadpan tone of Blue’s voice.

“Ah geez really?” Comic asked, his smirk growing larger. Blue grimaced. On his brother’s face that look meant that there was more terrible humor coming his way.

“I thought that one was a real ‘rib-tickler’. Heh.”

“UGH! You’re as awful as Papy!” Blue moaned as Comic continued to chortle at his expense. As the chortles wound down a comfortable silence surrounded them. Blue looked around to admire the gentle glow of the echo flowers and mushrooms lining their path. In the distance, he could hear the trickle of one of the many rivers that wound through Waterfall. The sound of water babbling over the stones in the river brought a sense of nostalgia and reminded him of his Waterfall back home. In Red and Edge’s world, he never got to visit Waterfall, knowing that even traveling outside the house in Snowdin was dangerous enough, and he had greatly missed his home and the jogs along the rivers he would take as he traveled to visit his Alphys in Hotland. Feeling a pricking of a wave of sadness starting to wash over him, he mentally shook himself and reengaged the other in conversation hoping to get his mind off of matters.

“So… is Alphys the Captain of the guard in your world too?” He asked looking back to Comic. If Comic was surprised or startled by the sudden question he didn’t show it, his expression only revealing a lazy grin though Blue was sure he could make out the spark of amusement in his eye lights at the question.

“Pfft no… she’s the royal scientist. Undyne is the Captain.” Comic corrected snickering to himself at the image of Alphys as a Guard Captain. He imagined the guards’ armor replaced with some kind of manga cosplay and had to stop himself from breaking out in tears of laughter. Quickly moving on to get the thought out of his head, he went on to explain that Alphys and Pap's had met online and later in-person through Undyne. "They hang out every now and again and do these jogs where they yell out things they like about themselves. Pretty cool huh?”

Blue nodded happily in agreement. “That is cool! I always wanted to do something similar but I could never get my Undyne to go with me. She’s the scientist in my world.”

Comic looked at Blue in consideration at the explanation for a moment. “No foolin’? The same’s true where Razz and Slim come from. It’s like you guys are just opposites of here or something.”

Blue wanted to ask more about any similarities between Razz and Slim’s home and his own, but off in the distance, they could hear the faint sound of voices yelling. Looking forward at an upcoming path they saw two figures round a corner, and the yelling began getting louder as they drew closer.

“Louder now!”

“I’M A DELIGHT!”

“Who’s amazing?”

“I’M AMAZING!”

“Who’s great?”

“PAPYRUS!”

“NYEHEHEHE!”

As they got closer Blue spotted a tall skeleton sharing a striking resemblance to his brother (without the slouch and tired sockets) wearing hot pants, a crop top with the word “Jog Boy” printed across the ribs, and a bright red headband around his skull. Behind them trailed a reptilian monster the looked much like his Alphys wearing a pink tank top and jogging shorts. While she appeared to be struggling to keep up he could tell she was valiantly trying her best. The skeleton, who was obviously Comic’s brother, must have spotted them as he raised his arm to wave and redirected himself to lead the reptilian monster in their direction.

“Brother, what a surprise!” He shouted with glee, reaching down to excitedly pull the shorter brother into a quick hug. “I am so happy to see you out and about and not being such a lazy bones.” Comic patted his brother’s back as he was carefully lowered back down to the ground. The other’s attention soon drifted to Blue with a curious look and a wide grin.

“And you have a friend!” They exclaimed before hastily introducing themselves and reaching his hand out for Blue to shake. “Hello! I am Papyrus, but I assume you know that,” he said with a knowing look. “You may call me Rus.”

Blue happily shook the other’s hand, excited to finally meet someone who appeared to be more similar to himself, if only in manners. “Hello Rus, I’m Blue!”

Rus grinned widely at the introduction before looking behind him to see that Alphys had finally managed to catch up with them. Comic nodded slightly to Alphys who came to a stop next to his bro, wheezing out a weak “hello” before bending over to catch her breath.

"And this is Alphys. Alphys, this is my new friend Blue." Alphys weakly rose her hand in greeting, still frantically trying to catch her breath. Blue softly agreed it was good to meet her acquaintance, not wanting to startle her as she attempted to regain composure.

“Were you both looking to join in on our run today?” Rus questioned politely looking hopeful at the prospect of having additional joking partners, especially his brother who always did his best to dodge any exercise activities. “It’s good for the bones.” He added enticingly.

Comic chuckled at his brother’s attempt, both of them knowing it would never work. “Naw bro, you would run me into the ground.”

“Sans…” Rus groaned in complaint. Before Rus could get started into his line of normal complaints though, Comic quickly interjected.

“Anyways Paps, Blue here needs your help.”

Rus looked like he was about to reprimand his brother for the interruption before comprehending what Comic had said. Nodding, his head rapidly he looked between the two shorter skeletons barely hiding the concern that was spreading across on his face.

“Certainly, I am always happy to help out a friend. How can I assist?” He immediately agreed.

“It seems he and his friends just got here and they had a run with Slim that didn’t go well.” Comic explained, knowing his brother would understand the underline message he was trying to convey without having to say it outright. There was no reason to upset Alphys for something they would be able to handle themselves. She would just end up telling Undyne, which would just incense the situation more as she and Razz always seemed to set the other off more with every interaction.

“Oh, dear.” Rus said looking troubled at the thought.

“Yeah, so we need your help calming Raz and Slim down before well… you know…”

Rus nodded in grim understanding. “Unfortunately I do.” He turned to Alphys who had regained her breath and was looking between the brothers with increasing concern while occasionally shooting the odd glance to the new skeleton in their presence.

“Alphys I apologize but I must end our session early today. But we must do this again soon when you can properly meet Blue.” Blue supported this idea eagerly, always happy for a jogging partner, and the chance to meet new friends.

“It-It’s okay Papyrus.” Alphys cautiously agreed though she was reluctant to leave them when something troubling was happening. She hadn’t yet met either Razz or Slim, but Undyne had and she had less than flattering things to say about the brother’s long-term guests. The thought that the brothers could be in some sort of trouble because of their guests didn’t sit right with her. She didn’t like the idea of leaving her friends if she could help them, but she would if they asked her, not wanting to potentially worsen a situation she didn’t fully yet understand.

“I’ll just head over to Undyne’s. Should I tell her what’s going on?” She asked hopefully, thinking the offer of more experienced back-up would be taken. However, disappointment washed over her as Papyrus shook his head in decline.

“No I don’t think that will be necessary, but thank you! I will call her if her assistance is needed.” He assured her, knowing she was less than satisfied with his rejection for help.

Alphys grudgingly nodded after getting both brothers to agree that they would call for help several times if they needed it before accepting their decision. Waving goodbye to Blue and brothers she slowly made her way towards Undyne’s home. She hoped that she would be able to see something on the limited camera feeds she had set up in Undyne’s home. While not as extensive as the camera feeds in her lab, which showed all the camera feeds she had throughout the entire Underground, she would still have access to a small selection of cameras at Undyne’s. If she was lucky she could monitor what was happening from there and alert Undyne if the brothers did appear to need assistance.

Once Alphys was out of earshot Comic directed his attention back to Blue. “Ok, so Blue. Where was the last place you remember seeing your friends?”

Blue thought for a moment, trying to figure out the best way to describe the location he and his friends had been before their separation.

“I didn’t recognize it at first, but do you know that ice pond in Snowdin Forest?” He asked, hoping the other knew where he was referring to.

“Yeah, I know the place. So there?” When Blue nodded in confirmation he cracked his knuckles before holding his hands out for his brother and Blue to hold. “Well that just great, because I know the perfect shortcut.”

Rus shook his head in exasperation. “Brother, that joke is getting old.”

“That joke never gets old bro.” Comic said with a grin before opening a shortcut.


	7. Puzzles are Fun

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Back with Edge, Red and Stretch as they discover the fun of puzzles and meet a new friend.

“Oh come on Boss! It can’t be that hard.” Red groaned as he and Stretch sat in the snow watching Edge flit about the ice looking like he was about to fall for the fiftieth time.

“If it’s so easy I would like to see YOU try then asshole.” Edge challenged slipping on the ice to try and hit the raised Xs of the puzzle. When they first came across the puzzles hidden throughout the forest Edge and Red had been prepared for the worst, thinking of the deadly traps that lined the paths in their world. However, it quickly became obvious that the puzzles weren’t anything like the traps of their home. Even the more seemingly dangerous ones were relatively easy to overcome and avoid. Whoever had set them up had obviously tried their best to ensure that no one would be hurt while trying to figure out their puzzles.

The newest puzzle though was causing them some difficulty. The objective appeared to be to hit the Xs arranged on the ice in a particular pattern. However, the ice was extremely slippery, making it difficult to maneuver. Not wanting to risk Stretch with his 1 HP, Red had quickly declared that Stretch would not be participating in this puzzle. Though he didn't anticipate Edge citing the same excuse against him, reminding Red that his 5 HP wasn’t much better. While the fall below the platform wasn’t all that high and would likely not hurt either of them, Edge proclaimed that he would be the one to solve the puzzle which would allow them to move onward down the path.

It became quickly apparent though that the ice was trickier for Edge to work on than he had originally predicted as the heels of his boots were not able to gain purchase on the ice. Stretch and Red quickly grew bored after what seemed like hours of watching his repeated faceplants and failures. The initial amusement of watching him stumble back up the path, covered in snow from after falling from the platform, had long worn off. His clothes were now soaked and his temper was growing increasingly incensed with each failure. If he ever had the displeasure of meeting whoever had constructed this monstrosity, oh they would have WORDS!

While Edge continued to falter at ice skating in heels, Stretch became more and more anxious. As they had walked the path towards town he had become more aware of how much this place reminded him of home. Besides the little differences, such as the dog treats in place of carrots they kept finding at the empty sentry stations, it was the same as his home. This meant that beyond this puzzle there was only one more sentry post separating them from the bridge into town. He was so close to getting his brother back he could almost taste it.

His hands started the clench and his feet tapped impatiently in the snow as he waited for Edge to hit the last few Xs of the puzzle. Red, sensing his boyfriend’s anxiety, had reached out and held his hand to give it the slightest squeeze.

“Hey, it’s gonna be alright.” He said reassuringly. “I’m sure Blue is fine. For what it’s worth, that asshole didn’t seem all that interested in hurting him.”

Stretch looked over at Red confused by the statement. “What do you mean?”

“Well,” Red said, taking his eyes off his stumbling brother to look at Stretch. “When monsters with LV are getting ready for a FIGHT you can feel this aura surrounding them. It just surrounds you, like they are trying to choke you out with it. It’s a sign they are getting ready to ATTACK, and it's kinda hard to miss. Dude was all ready to throw down with me and Boss, but when Blue went up everything just shut down. Whatever he was planning to do he must have changed his mind about when he saw Blue.”

“That’s not exactly reassuring,” Stretch muttered, though he squeezed Red’s hand back in appreciation for at least trying. Red nodded in understanding and they went back to watching Edge carefully trying to slide towards the last X. Unfortunately, he overshot it by a mile and went falling off the edge of the platform again which caused the puzzle to reset.

“Oh come on, this is ridiculous!” Stretch shouted throwing his hands in the air. However, he forgot that he was still holding onto Red in his grasp, causing Red’s arm to shoot up in the air as well and almost pulling Red off the ground entirely.

“Hey, bud watch it!” Red exclaimed.

Sheepishly, Stretch apologized as he gingerly lowered the other skeleton back down. Once Red’s bottom made contact with the snow again, Stretch released his hand so he could stand and approach the puzzle.

“Stretch… what are you doing?” Red questioned cautiously, starting to stand as well in case he needed to pull Stretch back away from the ice.

“We both know we’ll be out here all day if we let him keep on like this. Just let me try. My crocs should have better traction than his heels at least.” Stretch said, already eyeing the puzzle to plan out his moves. They had figured out a while ago exactly what Xs they needed to push and in what order, it was just the execution that needed work.

“Dude, no! You have 1 HP. 1! What if you fall?” Red argued apprehensively while holding on to the back of Stretch’s hoodie. “I don’t want you getting hurt.” He mumbled looking down to hide the blush the engulfed his skull at the confession.

Stretch turned around to face his flustered lover. Leaning down, he gently took Red’s skull in his hands to force the other to look at him. “I’ll be fine." He said calmly. "You’ll be watching over me, and if it looks like I might fall then you can use your BLUE magic to catch me okay?”

Red thought over the suggestion before nodding dubiously. “Yeah, okay. But if it looks like you’re in trouble I’m pulling your tailbone back here got it?”

“Deal.” Stretch agreed, before leaning over to press a chaste skill against Red’s teeth. “For luck.”

“Yeah yeah,” Red muttered, looking thoroughly embarrassed as he pushed Stretch away towards the ice. “Just get going before Boss finishes cleaning out the snow from his pants and gets back here. Then both of us will be in trouble.”

Stretch nodded before warily stepping onto the ice. He was right that his crocs did seem to fare better than Edge’s heels, but not by much. After a few steps, he could feel his feet starting to slip out from under him. Before Red could activate his magic though, Stretch held out his arms to gain balance. Slowly he approached the first X and let out a sigh when he was able to trigger it. Once it switched to a green O, he carefully began approaching to next one.

One by one he triggered the Xs. On the bank, he could see Red still at the ready in case of any falls. With every successful attempt, he grew more confident until he activated the last X. With all the triggers now showing O he would be able to slide over to the button which should activate to allow access the path into the forest.

Red was about to call out and suggest they wait for Edge, but Stretch had already pushed off the O to slide towards to button. 

“Dude!”

“Chill Red, I got it,” Stretch called back. Red watched as he slid over the button and disappeared off into the dense forest. Fear overwhelmed him when he lost slight of Stretch and he paced back and forth to try to spot him among the brush.

“STRETCH MAN WHERE ARE YA?!” He yelled in alarm.

“Sans, what is going on?”

Red turned to see Edge coming up the path, traces of snow still clinging to his uniform. Red ran up and grabbed his brother to pull him back towards the ice.

“Stretch solved the puzzle, but then he disappeared into the woods and now I can’t spot him,” Red explained growing more and more panicked the longer he couldn’t see Stretch.

“Fools! Didn’t I tell you to stay away from the ice?” Edge chastised, looking out across the ice to see if he could spot the missing skeleton. “SHIT FOR BRAINS, CAN YOU HEAR ME? ARE YOU ALIVE?” He bellowed.

“EDGELORD?” They heard called back, though it sounded a distance away. “IS THAT YOU?”

“NO, IT’S YOUR MOTHER. OF COURSE IT’S ME YOU IDIOT! WHERE ARE YOU?”

“I’M FINE” Stretch reassured them. “THERE’S AN ICE BRIDGE THROUGH THE TREES. JUST SLIDE ACROSS THE ICE AND IT’LL TAKE YOU THROUGH.”

The brothers both let a sigh of relief, calmed down now that they were aware the other was okay. “Great, you realize I’m never going to hear the end of it from him now right?” Edge muttered.

“Yeah,” Red agreed with a snicker. “He got it on his first try. How many times did you fall Boss? 30?”

“Shut up Sans,” Edge ordered brusquely. Red continued to snicker until he was snatched off the ground with a shout and found himself slung unceremoniously over his brother’s shoulder. “Oh, come on bro..”

“Quiet. I am not taking the risk of you doing something foolish and getting yourself dusted. We’re lucky the idiot seemed to make it across in one piece.”

Red muttered under his breath that it was Edge who was the one falling all over the place but was ignored as Edge approached the ice once more. This time, since the Xs had already been activated, all he would need to do was skate straight across over to the ice bridge which would hopefully be easier than his earlier attempts. Stepping off the snow-covered bank, Edge carefully pushed off with one foot behind him while keeping the other one pointed ahead to help guide himself. Luckily, this time he found he was able to more easily keep his balance and they smoothly skated across the puzzle towards the woods on the other side. The closer they got to the button, he was able to more easily spy a small ice bridge carving a path through the woods as Stretch had said. Quickly the ice carried them through the woods and spit them out the other side among the snow. Unable to catch himself before the ice ended, Edge fell forward into the snow causing Red to launch out of his hold with a shout.

“Goddamnit Boss!”

Edge pushed himself up off the ground and began dusting off the snow that covered his uniform. Close by he could see his brother was already standing and pounding on the side on his skull with his fist to try to dislodge any snow that had managed to get wedged inside his eye sockets.

“Finally we can put that ordeal behind us.”

“Um… guys?” They heard Stretch call out nervously.

Both their heads shot up, looking in the direction of the call. Before them was Stretch, unharmed but surrounded by a cage of jagged bones impeded into the ground. Red instantly began to move forward to release the other but was stopped as a sudden bone attack appeared in front of him causing him to fall back into the snow. While Red tried to reorient himself Edge swiftly shot out his own attack to prevent the attacker’s follow up attack from hitting its mark, namely Red’s spine. Red quickly scrambled up to flank his brother as they prepared their defense. 

It was then that he noticed a skeletal guard standing on either side of the cage. One was the easily recognizable Slim, leaning against the cage in apparent boredom with a cigarette dangling between his teeth. The other figure was of a smaller stature, closer in size to himself and Blue, but wearing a uniform that most resembled his brother’s. Three jagged scars ran down an eye socket that glared at them in disgust and jagged teeth cast in a sneer. The newcomer stepped forward and summoned a bone sword in their tensed fist. An aura of intense violence and intensity radiated from the figure as Edge and Red both gathered their magic and instinctively CHECKed the other.

“Sans”  
HP: 545  
AT: 10  
DF: 0  
LV: 11  
...You will not pass him…

“You have been found guilty of possessing LOVE and posing a threat to the inhabitants of this world. Stand down and accept your fates with honor.” The newly identified Sans ordered.

“Or what?” Red said mockingly, magic forming a Gaster Blaster that rose in the air behind him. He could feel Edge readying his stance and forming his own bone sword held before him. At the display of defiance the new Sans’ gave a sardonic grin and Slim had pushed off the cage with a sigh and toss his cigarette to the side, his own Gaster Blaster forming beside him.

“Oh, you’ll see.” The Sans mocked, thrusting his sword out for the first attack.


	8. Everything's a drag

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Slim plays killer guard dog until he gets interrupted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait. Life gets in the way as it does. But here it is! :)
> 
> Thanks for reading!

Slim barely held in the yawn as he dodged yet another attack from the Sans that he was pretty sure Blue had called Red. He immediately followed up with a blast of his own, causing the other to jump back several feet to avoid the hit. They had been fighting for maybe an hour or two and the Sans still seemed quite determined to get the Papyrus trapped inside his Lord’s bone cage back. Metch or something? He couldn’t remember.

Continuing to dodge the repeated attacks, he glanced off to the side to see how his brother was faring. He could see his brother and the other Papyrus (Ledge?) were still dueling it out with their swords and the occasional bone attack. His Lord appeared to be handling the other easily, which was to no surprise. The fact that the other still seemed to be holding his own against Razz was unanticipated.

It was all such a drag Slim thought as his Gaster Blaster let loose another blast that he quickly followed up with some bone spikes. Another miss. Slim would much rather be back enjoying some downtime in the shed getting to know his new friend than dealing with these LV infested beasts, but he knew that Blue would appreciate knowing that his brother was safe. Even though said brother just kept yelling threats and tossing the occasional snowball at Slim’s back.

“Hey douche, leave Red alone!”

Originally standing in front of the cage was meant to protect their captive from the LV trespassers attacks, it quickly became apparent that neither trespasser had any interest in hurting the captive and was more interested in “saving” their captive friend than hurting him, which made Slim’s job of guard dog a lot easier. Using this to his advantage, Slim’s strategy shifted to using the other as a makeshift shield since neither monster would go full out on their attacks with their friend standing just a few feet behind their target, especially the one called Red. While it did seem to be working the strategy did have its drawbacks, namely the captive.

“Fuck you jerk, don’t ignore me!” Slim heard the other Papyrus yell before another snowball hit the back of his skull. “Where’s Blue? Tell me what you did with him!”

Turning his head to tell the ungrateful captive to knock it off, he missed the pull of attack magic gathering until it was too late to dodge. He felt the heat of another Gaster Blaster attack go off and felt the pain shoot up his side as the attack clipped him. Ignoring the cheer from their captive at the lucky shot he ordered his Blasters to provide cover fire as he retreated some and cataloged his injuries. While the attack did shave a few HP points, it barely touched his ribs and the pain was bearable. Satisfied that it hadn’t been a debilitating hit, he straightened his spine to refocus on his opponent.

“Give up yet asshole?” He heard Red taunt, though the Sans let out a curse when Slim released a series of unrelenting attacks in his direction. Red dodged and continued to shout insults at the other to try and throw off his focus, but as the attacks continued the shouts soon started to sound haggard. Despite the shot, Slim could tell the other was beginning to wear down. The exhaustion from the FIGHT was showing and the repeated dodging Red was forced to do was just using up more and more energy. That one attack had been his last shot and it hadn’t been enough. Slim wouldn’t make the same mistake.

With a smirk, he eased his attack for a moment to give the other a breather. “Aren’t you ready to give up yet?” He asked. “I know you’re tired. I can make it painless for you, you wouldn’t feel a thing.”

Red glared from where he stood crouched over in exhaustion. Panting, he stood up and attempted to pull forth the last threads on his energy.

“Fuck…. You.”

Slim smirked at the defiance and readied another attack, confident this would be it. He decided he would still be merciful though and make sure that one shot would be enough to end it. Behind him, he could hear the shouts of the trapped Papyrus frantically trying to drag his attention off the struggling Sans. The sword-swinging Papyrus must have caught on to his partner’s struggle as he tried to dash towards them, but his Lord wasn’t giving him any openings for them to retreat to the other Sans’ side. Slim felt the magic swirling in his eye socket as he gathered his magic for the final blast.

“RED!!”

The screams of three voices filled the area as the blinding light of the blast consumed the clearing. Slim stood at the ready ignoring the crying behind him as he waited for the smoke of the attack to clear. He was certain he had hit his mark, but that was no reason to be cocky. As the air cleared he narrowed his eye sockets when not even a speck of dust was seen mixed into the snow.

“Wow, that was close huh?”

Slim grumbled in irritation as he spotted Red surrounded by BLUE magic and flailing in the air directly above the line of Slim’s attack. He could hear both the other Papyruses heave out sighs of relief at the sight.

“Comic, what are you doing here?” He questioned sharply as he looked around for the lazy Sans. Once he spotted him he winced when he saw Comic’s silhouette emerge from the forest behind Red, immediately followed by Rus and Blue. While Comic was completely unaffected by the scene before him, he could see Rus’ arms folded in disapproval as he looked between Slim and the still fighting Razz in disappointment. Blue appeared to be recovering from what passed as a skeleton heart attack and was glancing around trying to check on the conditions of his friends and brother.

“Hm… oh nothing. Just looking for my slippers.” Comic shrugged as he released the magic surrounding Red and dropped the other into the snow. Red let out a shout and Blue quickly reprimanded Comic for the action before scurrying over to help his sputtering friend up. Slim noted with a wince that Blue was making sure to intentionally position himself between Slim and Red.

“Red, are you okay? I came back as soon as I could.” Blue said as he hoisted Red up by the arm. Red muttered out some reassurances while casting suspicious glares at the other two skeletons in Blue’s company, though both of their attentions seemed locked on Slim.

Slim glanced down at the pink fuzzy slippers covering Comic’s feet and groaned. He knew that things just got more complicated for him and Razz.

“Yeah, well it looks like you found ‘em.” He said with a sneer. “Now be a good pet and take Blue and Rus back home. We’ll catch up with you guys later.” Slim casually ordered with a shrug, casting a challenging look at Comic. Comic’s facade didn’t break from his calm smile, though his eye sockets did narrow slightly in a rare show of anger.

“That’s a wonderful idea!” Rus exclaimed with a strained smile stepping forward towards Slim before Comic could say anything less than favorable about the other. “Let’s ALL head back to the house. I’ll make some delicious spaghetti and we can have a nice LONG talk about proper behavior for greeting new friends.” He said, quickly waving his hand at the trapped skeleton behind Slim with a wide smile. The trapped skeleton hesitantly waved back, casting unsure glances to his brother and boyfriend. Blue gave his brother a nervous smile while Red appeared just as confused at the change in the situation.

“That sounds fun and all Rus, but no,” Slim said nonchalantly eye sockets still locked on Comic. However, he turned his attention to Rus when he felt the feeling of impending doom overcome him as Rus’ rising ire was directed solely at him. Realizing his mistake he ducked his head in apology for his terrible manners, which seemed to please Rus just slightly. “R-Razz already gave his orders.” He explained with a stutter, ducking his head again to avoid the disappointed look sent his way. He could hear Comic’s muffled chuckles coming from behind Rus but contained the urge to stick his summoned tongue out at the other lazybones to avoid the wrath of ANOTHER lecture he was already certain to be getting in the very near future. What a drag.

“Oh he did, did he?” Rus questioned, already summoning a large bone club into his hands. Luckily, he was a ‘dealing with Razz’ expert. “Then I’ll just have quick chat about that with him before we head back. No reason to be late for dinner after all.”

With a nod of determination, he set out towards the still-fighting sword-wielding skeletons. Slim let out a sigh of relief as Rus’ attentions moved away from him. He watched the other Papyrus raise the club high above his head before slamming it down between the two fighters, forcing them to separate. At least he was no longer the focus of others’ wrath.

“Shouldn’t we help him?” Blue asked hesitantly while he and Red watched Rus enter the fray. Comic glanced over at his brother but didn’t appear to be concerned.

“Naw, bro’s got this.” He raised a brow bone at Slim who had already reached into his pocket to pull out a fresh cigarette from his pack. “We got to worry about you?”

Slim lit the cigarette between his teeth and took a long inhale. “Naw, I’m good.”

“Cool.”


End file.
